New broker group to offer secure mortgages online

22 Aug 2006

PIBA Mortgage Services, a non-profit mortgage service for independent brokers due to be launched next month, plans to implement technology that will allow it to process mortgage applications securely over the internet.

PIBA has partnered with Ergo Software Solutions, a Dublin-based software company that will develop the online mortgage application system. PIBA is a network of some 500 small and medium-sized independent mortgage brokers that between them account for close to €2.5bn in home loans each year.

The online service will allow brokers to submit all of the necessary documentation electronically and they will be able to receive mortgage quotes the same way.

Diarmuid Kelly, chief executive of PIBA, said at the launch: “The ultimate aim of the system is to have end-to-end online processing of mortgage applications that will transmit data and supporting documentation by electronically interfacing with the lenders for quicker and more streamlined decisions, which means cutting out time and bureaucracy for both the consumer and the broker.”

Mortgage brokers participating in PIBA will be able to provide customers with a choice of mortgage products from lenders in the Irish market, as well as giving advice on the available mortgage product most appropriate to the customers’ needs.

“The network will now back up these mortgage brokers with sophisticated technology which gives information feeds on all lender rates and calculation tools which will enable customers compare at a glance what different lenders will offer,” said Kelly. He also claimed that the combination of technology and service would allow PIBA to compete with the larger players in the Irish mortgage market.

The system will comply with the new Consumer Protection Code requirements such as comparing the cost of credit on consolidated loans. Kelly also confirmed that PIBA would build an automated underwriting comparison into the system, giving indicative figures for what maximum loans each lender will offer to individual customers.